RÉSUMÉ
Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic auto-immune disease in which loss of pancreatic islet ß-cells leads to the deficiency of insulin in the body thus resulting in enhanced blood sugar levels. Effective blood glucose monitoring is crucial in T1DM management to prevent complications, particularly hypoglycemia. Method: The study adopted a cross-sectional survey to assess satisfaction and quality of life among T1DM patients using the freestyle libre continuous glucose monitoring (FSL-CGM), and a retrospective cohort study design to evaluate changes in HbA1c over a year. Result: The study involved 98 Saudi subjects, with 46.9% (n = 46) being male. The results indicated a high level of user satisfaction, with more than 85% of the participants responding positively, yielding a total satisfaction score of 30.86. User satisfaction with FSL-CGM was found to be significantly associated with the level of education. The use of FSL-CGM was also found to significantly improve the patients' quality of life. However, the levels of HbA1c had an impact on both satisfaction and quality of life. Before using the FSL-CGM system, the mean HbA1c was 9.83%, which significantly decreased to 8.63% after using the system (P-value <0.001). Conclusion: The study's findings align with previous literature on satisfaction and quality of life, but there are conflicting results regarding the reduction of HbA1c levels using FSL-CGM. Given the limited sample size, future research could explore the topic more comprehensively, potentially utilizing a longitudinal study design to better measure changes in HbA1c level.
RÉSUMÉ
ARTIs have a huge impact in health systems in which 20-30% of all hospital admissions and 30-60% of practitioner visits are related to respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, age distribution, and seasonal variation of respiratory viruses. This study was descriptive retrospective study in which all patients 14 years of age and below who presented with signs and symptoms of ARTIs between January 2013 and December 2014 and had respiratory specimen tested by direct immunofluorescence assays for viruses identification were included in the study. During that period, a total of 4611 patients who presented with ARTIs from January 2013 to December 2014 were investigated, viruses were detected in 1115 (24%). RSV was associated with 97.4% of the total viral pathogens. Viruses were detected throughout all the two years with a peak in winter; Dec (n: 265), Jan (n: 418), Feb (n: 218), and Mar (n: 109). Viral pathogens are very important cause of ARTIs in our region. RSV was the most common virus detected with the highest detection rate in children who are two years old and below. A multi-center surveillance with more sensitive detection methods like PCR may help to provide a comprehensive understanding of virus distribution in our area, which may contribute implant an effective prevention approach for each virus.